Importing from China

[LukeT11]

Hi all!

This is my first post on the forums, so please be gentle!

Basically I need some sort of a checklist to help me get sorted.

My story:

I have a ship coming from China to Felixstowe and is due to arrive at the beginning of July. The size of the shipment if around 5 cubic meters and is valued at over £10,000. In order to save some money, I am going to hire a van and drive down to Felixstowe and collect the goods in person. I am currently trying to work out what I need to take to the port in order to receive my goods.

So far I have the following sorted:

EORI number
VAT number
Bill of Landing (Telex release)

I believe the ship is due to Felixstowe on 4th July at noon, so when am I likely to be able to collect my goods?

I also need to know what else I need to take to the port in order for me to be aloud my goods. Please do not worry about the charges etc etc, all I need to know is what I need in order to actually get the goods.

I would like to thank you for reading my post, and I look forward to any resonses that people will be able to help me with.

Thanks again.

Luke

 

[Import Expert]

Hi Luke,

Unfortunately it sounds like you have fallen into the trap of buying on C&F terms. I know you say not to worry about costs, but please be prepared that these are likely to be high.

In future, buy on FOB terms and get a UK forwarder to arrange shipping to Door UK, which will work out MUCH cheaper (probably half what you will end up paying). If you drop me a PM I can talk it through with you.

On to the more specific question, it might not be quite as simple as picking up from Felixstowe as although this is where the container is due to arrive, its not necessarily where it will 'unpack' and clear customs. For example our containers are unpacked in Chelmsford, Essex.

You will probably be contacted by the Uk agent soon, where you can find out where goods are and the charges. Once goods customs cleared you will need to pay costs to the agent along with Duty/VAT and they should then release goods to you for collection.

If you would like to run the costs past me once you have them I'm happy to take a look over them to make sure they look OK, or answer any questions you might have.

Kind regards,
darren.

 

[LukeT11]

Hi Darren.

Thank you for your reply.

You have now made me worry lol!

Do you know what documentation I will need to take in order to collect the goods?

I did go into this with the knowledge that I am going to learn from it, and it will act as a 'practice' for future container imports, so I suppose it is going to be a pretty steep learning curve.

Also, I have a Bill of Landing so is there anything on this that will give me greater information in regards to what I should expect when arriving to collect my goods?

Thanks again everyone!

Kind Regards

Luke

 

[PowerForwarding]

As Darren says you would have been better off contacting a UK freight forwarder and having the shipment arranged under FOB terms that way you would at least know all the charges before arranging anything. It would also work out a lot cheaper too.

The Bill of Lading you have should let you know who the agent is in the UK that you need to contact. You may also have to surrender an original bill of lading to them prior to release. You will need to appoint an agent to customs clear the cargo or use the current agent handling the shipment (the current agent will not do this automatically without your approval). You will need an EORI number to clear the cargo in the UK as you say you've sorted.

Once their charges are paid assuming you are correct and the shipment is at Felixstowe you will need to let the agent know your vehicle registration number for the vehicle you intend to collect with so the cargo can be released to you. You will need to make note of the UCN number which is so the warehouse knows what shipment is yours (which will be provided by the agent). Might be worth taking some form of identification with you also just in case.

 

[LukeT11]

Thanks for you response.

I am beginning to get more and more worried now!

I thought that as I have paid for the stock and for sea fright that the only cost that I would incur would be Duty and VAT. What other costs am I likely to run into?

Also, I am very confused about what I am now required to do. I would like to complete the first import by myself so that I can get used to import proceedures etc. Do I just sit back and wait for somebody to contact me or is this not going to happen?

So when I get to the port of Felixstowe, I simply need to show them I.D, my EORI number and the Bill of Landing as well as letting them know my car REG number?

I do not have the original Bill of Landing as I was told I will not need this as it is 'TELEX RELEASE' is this correct?

I think I may have a problem as you are talking about agents, but I have absolutely no idea who my agent is? It does have a company name on my Bill of Landing called 'Kingscote Rojay LTD' does this ring any bells?

Sorry for all the questions, I am simply trying to import succesfully and make something of myself in these hard economic times.

Thanks again for all of your responses, you have all been very helpful so far!

Kind Regards

Luke

 

[PowerForwarding]

Yes Kingscote Rojay are the UK agent handling the shipment, if you need them to customs clear the cargo you'll need to instruct them to do so, you can't just do it all yourself unfortunately.

Yes if it is a telex release bill of lading then there is no need for an original. The EORI number is not required for collecting the cargo it is needed to customs clear the goods.

If you want send me over an email or PM me and i'll take a look at the bill of lading for you and try and explain the other charges you'll receive.

 

[MOIC]

As mentioned, when sending goods by LCL, its imperative you get a price for door to door..........otherwise your clearance charges can be horrendous.

 

[GraemeL]

well as letting them know my car REG number?

Hello Luke,

Darren and Robert are spot on with the advice they have given you.

I am assuming you do not really mean to collect 5cm in a car? Would have thought a small transit at least?

This thread will give you more background data on what can happen if you do not use a UK based agent:-
http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=256975

G

 

[christina2011]

Hi Luke,how's going on? Firstly,you need to contact your forwarder agent and at the same time prepare needed doc to clear customs,such as telex release BL,packing list,commercial inovice,CO/FA if need etc.Hope this is good for you. Christina.

 

[James Cloudy]

I haven't encounter this type of problem in my business.Therefore I am not sure about the solution but I will love to help you.In your situation you need to take some firm decisions as it belong to other country f which you have citizenship